Unhairing machine



June 4, 1929. F W, HORSTMANN 1,715,758

y A UNHAIRING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2.7, 1926 5 sheetsheet 1 j? 48 Fl GJ f@ 37 l N V E N TO R FEEDER/CK W. HORST/MMV ATTORNEYS June 4, 1929- F. w. HoRsTMAN UNHAIRING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet mvENToR F/PEDER/c/f w. #msm/fm BY lATToRNEYs UNHAIRING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet FIG] Patented June 4, 1929.

FREDERICK W. HORSTMANN, OF MAPLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

UNHAIRING MACHINE.

Application filed February 27, 1926. Serial No. 91,074.

This invention relates to machines for unhairing pelts of all kinds by removing the water hairs therefrom, and more particularly to the mechanism of such machines for feeding the pelts to the cutting knives, whereby the necessity of pinning the furs to the conveyor is eliminated.

Machines for unhairing pelts usually comprise a fixed stretcher bar over which a conveyor is intermittently actuated to feed Ithe pelts to the cutting mechanism, which latter is disposed adjacent and in close proX- imity to the forward edge of the stretcher bar.

A rotary brush is disposed above and adjacent to the forward edge of the stretcher bar and in close proximity to the surface of the conveyor and serves to brush the fur and disentangle the hairs therefrom. Beneath the forward edge of the stretcher bar and operating in timed sequence with a guard comb, is a rapidly rotating brush, termed a separator brush, which functions to smooth the fur away from the water hairs, which, because of their greater resiliency, spring away from the fur into such position that the cutting knives may sever the same from t-he pelt. The guard comb operates to maintain the brushed fur away from the cutting position. The cutting knives usually comprise a reciprocating bed knife and a rotary blade or knife cooperating therewith. The foregoing structure is Well known and is commonly employed in this type of machine. In such machines, as previously stated, the stretcher bar is fixed and the conveyor to which the pelts are ordinarily secured by pinning, is fed intermittently over the stretcher bar.

The operation of pinning the peltsl to the apron or conveyor is tedious and time consuming and furthermore, not entirely satisfactory from the standpoint of producing a uniformly unhaired pelt, lsince the stretching of the pelt by the operator in pinning the same to the conveyor is variable. The present invention eliminates the pinning operation and furthermore, provides for uniformly stretching the pelt upon the conveyor' and for automatically bringing the same into position adjacent the cutting mechanism.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an unhairing machine with an improved feeding mechanism for the pelts which does not require that the pelts be secured to the conveyor by pins and the like.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an unhairing machine which enables the production of substantially completely unhaired pelts and which operates in a uni-l form and unvariable manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an unhairing machine which automati-v cally mantains the pelts upon the conveyor while being fed past the cutting mechanism.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an unhairing machine with a bodily movable conveyor for the pelts.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an unhairing machine in which the pelts may be merely placed upon the conveyor and maintained in close contact therewith while the pelts are being fed past the cutting mechanism, the pelts being automatically discharged.

Other objects of the invention will become 75 apparent as the following detailed description is read, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of an unhairing machine embodying the invention, the frame` portions of the machine being broken away for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation similar to Fig. l of an unhairing machine embodying the invention but looking at the machine from the side opposite to that shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an unhairing machine employing the invention.

Figs. 4L, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are detailed enlarged views showing the relative positions of cer- 90 tain portions of the mechanism during various stages of the operation thereof.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the smoothing plate; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the smooth- 95 i ing plate showing its relation to the disentangling brush.

The present machine for unhairing pelts may comprise frame members ll disposed upon opposite sides of the machine. Supported in these frame members 1s a main driving shaft 12 upon which 1s mountedv a cam 13 engaging a roller 14 supported at the end of a bracket 15 secured to cross bar 16, which latter is connected at each end to levers 17, pivoted on a stationary shaft 18 mounted in the frame members 11. A reciprocating bed knife 19 is supported by the ends 21 of the levers 17.

The bed knife 19 is operated in proper timed sequence with a rotary knife 22 which latter is supported by brackets 23 from a shaft 24 rotatably mounted in the frame inembers 11, of the machine.

Motion is imparted to the knives 19 and 22 by a belt 25 connected to a suitable source of power, said belt being threaded over a pulley 26 secured to the shaft 12, the latter carrying a gear wheel 27 in mesh with a gear wheel 28, secured to the shaft 24. Upon rotation of the shaft 12, the cam 13 is actuated, thus causing a reciprocation of the bed-knife 19. Rotation of the shaft 12 produces a rotation of the shaft 24 by reason of the meshing gears 27 and 28, thus rotating the cutter 22. The relative movementof these knives is such that the two knives are disposed adjacent each other for the shearing of the hairs in accordance with the operation of the conveyor and other instrumentalities subsequently to be described.

The hairs on a pelt are brought into proper juxtaposition for the cutting operation by means of the following mechanism. A conveyor 29 is threaded over adriving pulley or drum 31 and a stretcher bar 32, which are mounted in rigid but adjustable relation on a conveyor frame 33 which is slidably supported on tracks 34 for a purpose which will be described more fully hereinafter.

rlhe mechanism for presenting the water hairs of a pelt to the cutting mechanism and for maintaining the fur away from such mechanism comprises a rotary brush 35 disposed adjacent the forward edge of the stretcher bar and in close proximity to the upper surface of the conveyor 29. rEhe function of this brush is to disentangle the water hairs from the fur. As the pelts are intermittently fed about the forward edge of the stretcher bar, a rapidly rotating separator brush 36 is moved forwardly and upwardly around the forward edge of the stretcher bar and then backwardly around the same for the purpose of laying back the fur and permitting the stiffer and more resilient water hairs to spring outwardly into such position that the cutting mechanism may operate thereon to sever the same from the pelt. Cooperating with brush 36 is a guard comb 37 which is moved into contact with, brushed back fur immediately after the brush 36 has pern formed its operation so as to retain the fur away from the cutting mechanism.

intermittent motion is imparted to the conveyor 29 by means of a ratchet wheel 37 secured to the shaft 38 upon which drum 31 is fastened. A pavvl 39 carried at one end of a lever 41 pivotally mounted on an end of the shaft 38, is employed to impart intermittent motion to the conveyor 29. The lever 41 is oscillated back and forth by a link 43 connected at one end to the end 44 of the lever and at its other end to a link 45 pivoted on a shaft 46 mounted in the frame members 11 of the machine. A cam 47 mounted on the shaft 12 cooperates with the link 45 to actua-te the conveyor 29 intermittently. A shroud or cover plate 48 mounted on the frame 33 is provided to lift the pawl 39 from engagement with the ratchet wheel 37 as the conveyor is bodily moved away from the cutting mechanism and thus prevent the pawl from engaging the ratchet wheel at such a position that the conveyor will be intermittently actuated prior to its being returned to a position, adjacent the cutting mechanism. A pawl 39 may also be provided to prevent clockwise rotation of the ratchet wheel and conveyor.

'l he separator brush 3G and the guard comb 37 are actuated in the following manner. The brush 36 is secured to a shaft 49 rotatably mounted in the upwardly projecting` ends 51 of links 52 having their other ends 53 secured to the ends 54 of levers 55, pivotally mounted on the shaft 18. The lower ends of levers 55 are secured to links 56 supporting rollers 57 cooperating with cams 58 mounted on the shaft 12. r1`he cams 58 op crate to move the lever 55 in one direction while suitable springs may be provided to cause a return movement of the said lever. The links 52 are suspended intermediate their ends by links 59 secured to links 59", which latter are secured to an upright of the frame 11 of the machine and made adjustable thereon to shift the position of the fulcruin about which the arms 52 rock. 1t will be obvious that by reason of the above described structure that reciprocation of the links 52 by oscillation of the levers 55, causes the separator brush 36 to move in a curved path which is of suoli contour as to cause the brush to move upwardly over the forward edge of the conveyor, when the latter is brought to a'position adjacent the cutters, and then downwardly to a position of rest beneath the conveyor. The brush serves to brush the fur downwardly against the conveyor or skin of the pelt, the water hairs springing outwardly into position to be cut, owing to their greater resiliency.

The guard comb 37 is operated so as to closely follow the downward movement of the brush 36 in order that the fur which is brushed back by the latter, may be retained in such position during the cutting operation. To accomplish such movement of the guard comb, the latter is supported on a pair of links 61 having their ends also secured to the upper ends of the levers 55. The links 61 are supported intermediate their ends by links 62 secured to the ends of the links 62, which latter are adj ustably mounted at 63 in the frame of the machine. It will be apparent that as the links 61 are reciprocated by the levers 55, the ends thereof supporting the guard comb will rise and tall, thus bringing the comb into and out ot Contact with the fur on a pelt.

As stated heretofore, the separator brush 36, guard comb 37, rotary cutter 22 and reciprocating bed knife 19 are operated in timed sequence with the intermittent movement of the conveyor 29 so as to produce the required action to bring about the cutting of the water hairs from a pelt. This mechanism is old in the art and therefore requires no further explanation.

The present invention relates specifically to an improvement in the conveyor mecha` nism which enables an operator to merely place the skins upon the conveyor without resorting to the usual operation of pinning the skins thereon and after the same have been properly cut to unpin the same to eiiect their removal from the machine.

The improved conveyor mechanism comprises a. bodily movable conveyor which is designated as a whole, by the reference character 71. The conveying mechanism comprises the usual stretcher bar 32, shaft 38, drum 31 and conveyor 29, the latter being threaded around the stretcher bar 32 and drum 31.

As stated heretofore7 these elements are supported on a frame 33 which is slidably mounted on tracks 34. The frame 33 comprises two slides 72 having slots 7 3 through which project guide pins 74 for maintaining the trame 33 in position on the tracks 34 and for limiting` the in and out motion of the conveyor. The slides 72 have bearings 75 (see `Eig. 2) in which is'pivoted a frame 76 supporting the bearing blocks 77 for the shaft 38 oi the conveyor drum 31. The bearing blocks 77 are adjustable by means of screws 78 within the frame 7 6 so as to provide for tensioning the conveyor 29. As stated, the frame 76 is pivotally supported in the bearings 7 5, so that the frame as a whole together with the drum 31 and shaft 38, may be swung upwardly about the shaft 79 if it is desired to loosen the conveyor. The frame 76 may be locked in its lowered position by means of pivoted locking pawls 81 which engage locking studs 82 on the frame 33 oi. the machine, springs 83 being employed to maintain the pawls in position ttor automatically engaging the studs 82 when the frame is lowered.

The conveyor frame 33 may be bodily moved with respect to the cutting mechanism by means of hand levers 84 disposed on each side of the machine. These levers are pivoted at 85 to the frame 11 of the machine and one on the' one side of the machine is provided with a rigid handle 86, while the other is provided with a pivoted locking handle 86 for a purpose to be later described. Links 87 are connected at one end to the upper ends of the hand levers 84 and at their other ends to the conveyor frame 33. Itis obvious that upon moving the upper ends of the hand levers 84 away from the cutting mechanism, the conveyor will also be moved away from the cutting mechanism, thus atfording the operator an opportunity to place the skins upon the conveyor with the ends thereof draped over the stretcher bar edge of the conveyor. Upon moving the hand levers toward the cutting mechanism, it is apparent that the conveyor will be brought into position with the stretcher bar edge adjacent the cutting mechanism. In order to hold the conveyor in the latter position, locking handle 86 is provided. This handle comprises la `-shaped bar which is pivoted at 89 to an outwardly projecting lug at the upper end of the hand lever 84. The end 92 of this handle is provided with a notch 93 which is adapted to engage an adjustable stud or pin `94 mounted in the frame 11 of the machine, said stud being adjustable to regulate the position of the stretcher bar with respect to the knives and thus regulate the depth the water hairs are cut and to compensate for wear in the knives. A guideA slot 95y through which a guide pin 96 projects, is provided to guide the handle 86 in its movements. A spring 96 is provided to hold the handle in position `so that it may automatically engage the stud 94 upon moving the conveyor toward-the cutting mechanism, a depending lip 93 being provided to prevent the handle from moving beyond the stud. It is also tov be noted that the end ol? the arm 92 is beveled so that the arm may readily ride up over the stud. The handle is automatically disengaged upon grasping the same and pulling in a direction away from the cutting mechanism, It will thus be seen that the conveyor is readily unlocked so that is may be moved away from the cutting mechanism and automatically locked in position when moved toward the cutting mechanism.

In order that the Skins may be positively moved along with the conveyor when the lat ter is intermittently actuated, mechanism is provided for drawing the overhanging edge ot the skin about the stretcher bar with which other mechanism cooperates to maintain the skin in such position until the entire skin has been ted past the cutting mechanism. The mechanism for drawing the skin about the edge of the stretcher bar may comprise a bar or rod 97 termed a sweep (F ig. 4) supported at the end of the upwardly inclined portions 98 of levers 99, pivoted at 101 in the frame 11 of the machine. The sweep 97 is maintained in its normal position above the upper stretch of the conveyor 29, byy springs 102. The action of the sweep is such that as the conveyor with the skins draped over the edge of the same (Fig. 4) is moved toward the conveyor, the edges of the stretcher bar engages the inclined faces of the portions 9.8 of the levers 99 thus causing the sweep 97 to engage the projecting or hanging edges of the skins and sweep them about the edge of the stretcher bar (see Fig. 5) and against the underside of the conveyor 29. It is to be understood the arcuate movement of the sweep is so designed as to accomplish this result. As the conveyor continues its bodily movement toward the cutting mechanism, the portion of the skin lying next to the underside of the conveyor engages the 'spring plates 103 (Fig. 6), there being two of these plates, one for each skin (Fig. 3). r1`he plates 103 are supported by cross pieces 104 secured to the frame 11 of the machine. The plates 103 have downwardly turned lips 105 at their ends adjacent the cutting mechanism and are curved downwardly in a direction away from the cutting mechanism and conveyor so as to facilitate the discharge of the unhaired skins.

Owing to the fact that the rough surface of the pelt, that is, the skin side thereof, lies against the surface of the conveyor 29, and is rough as compared with the fur side of the pelt, the conveyor will readily move the same about the edge of the stretcher bar and over the plates 103 when the conveyor is intermittently actuated The position of the spring plates 103 with respect to the sweep 97 is such that immediately after the sweep has performed its operation, the edges of the skins are disposed over the spring plates, thus preventing the skins, if stiff, from springing upwardly after leaving the sweep.

The conveyor mechanism just described may be employed to feed pelts past the cutting mechanism without requiring the withdrawal of the conveyor bodily from the cutting mechanism. That is to say, the conveyor may be locked in position adjacent the cutters. This may be accomplished by merely pinning the forward edge of a skin upon the conveyor and underlapping the succeeding skins. It will be apparent that when the skins are arranged in such a manner that they will readily pass around the stretcher bar and be held firmly in contact with the conveyor, this being due to the provision of the plates 103. Vith such a construction it is obvious that there will be no necessity of providing the mechanism with a sweep 97 or providing hand levers for bodily moving the conveyor to and from the cutting mechanism. It will also be observed that after the skin which has been pinned to the conveyor has been removed that it will then be unnecessary to pin any of the other skins and furthermore that the vunhaired skins will be automatically discharged.

In order to stretch or smooth the skin,

upon the conveyor, a smoother plate 106 (Figs. 9 and 10) is provided. This plate is disposed above the conveyor immediately to the rear of brush 35 and is suitably mounted in the frame 11 of the machine. Itis preferably disposed at an angle with respect to the upper stretch of the conveyor so as to provide a wedge shaped opening 107 to facilitate entrance of the fur. Ribs 108 extending diagonally across the plate 106 are providedv on the underneath side thereof. These ribs engage the pelts and smooth the same from their central longitudinal axial line toward the longitudinal edges thereof as they are moved toward the cutting mechanism.

The brush 36 is rotated from the main drive shaft 12 by a sprocket wheel 109 mounted thereon, chain 111, sprocket wheel 112 mounted on a stub shaft 113, gear wheels 114 and 115, the latter being mounted on shaft 18 and in mesh with a gear wheel 116 which is mounted on the end of a rocking shaft 117 having a downwardly extending arm 118 rockable about the shaft 18. A sprocket 119 mounted on the shaft 117 is connected through chain 121 with a sprocket wheel 122 mounted on a shaft 123 supported in lever 52, a gear 124 mounted on said shaft 123 being in mesh with a gear wheel 125 secured to shaft 49 upon which the brush 36 is mounted. It will be apparent that by reason of the swinging movement of the stub shaft 117 about the shaft 18 as a pivot that the gear 116 will always be retained in mesh with. the gear wheel 115 mounted on shaft 18, such swinging movement being occasioned through the reciprocating motion of lever 52.

The brush 35 may be actuated from the shaft 24 through pulley wheel 126 mounted thereon, belt 127, pulley wheel 128 mounted on shaft 129, gear wheel 131 meshing with gear wheel 132 which latter is secured to shaft 133 which is rotatable in the frame of the machine and upon which the brush 35 is mounted. A lever 134 is pivoted on the shaft 133, said lever carrying the shaft 129 upon which the pulley wheel 128 is mounted. A spring 135 is secured to the upper end of the lever 134 and at the other end to a post 136, so as to maintain the belt 127 taut.

The operation of the machine is as follows. Assuming that the conveyor 29 is in a position away from the cutting mechanism, an operator may then dispose two pelts 137 (Fig. 3) thereon with the ends 138 (Fig. 4) draped thereover. rlhe operator next grasps the handles 86, 86 of the levers 84 and moves the conveyor bodily toward the cutting mechanism. As the conveyor is moved toward the cutting mechanism, the sweep rod 97 which is positioned above the conveyor, is moved downwardly over the stretcher bar edge of the conveyor, thus carrying the projecting or overhanging ends 138 of the skins to a position against the underside of the conveyor (Fig. 5). A continued bodily movement of the conveyor brings the underturned edge of the skins in contact with the upper surface ofthe plates 103 and thus holds the edges in such position. The edge of the skin disposed about the stretcher bar is then brought within range of the brushes 35 and 36 at which time the slot 94 in the handle 86 engages the lug 93 to hold the conveyor in its forward or cutting positions. The pawl 39 is now positioned away from the shroud 48 so that it may actuate the ratchet wheel 38 and thus cause the conveyor to be intermittently rotated; After each intermittent actuation of the conveyor, the lever brush 36 is swung upwardly about the edge of the stretcher bar and then downwardly (Figs. 6 and 7) thus laying the fur and wat-er hairs down against the skin. Immediately after the brush has performed its Operation the comb 37 is brought into positionlFig. 8) to hold the fur against the skin and away from the cutting knives. During the brief interval of time the combis brought into position the water hairs spring outwardly away from the less resilient fur so that they are not held back by the comb. The outwardly extending water hairs'are thereafter engagedby the cutting mechanism to effect their removal. The skins are intermittently fed forwardly until the entire skins have been treated to remove the water hairs, the skins being' automatically discharged or removed from the conveyor 29. The conveyor may then be withdrawn bodily by pulling upon the handles 86, 86, so that the conveyor may again be loaded. The foregoing operations may be then repeated. As an alternative the conveyor may not be bodily moved away from the cutting mechanism in which case it is merely essential to pin the forward edge of the first skin to the conveyor and underlap the succeeding skins, the skins being thereafter automatically brought into position for the brushing and cutting operations and thereafter automatically discharged.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated,

modification thereof may occur to those skilled in the art, however, suchmodifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the inventionv as defined by the appended claims. v

IVhat is claimed is:

1. Inan unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur of pelts down while allowing the h'air to assume a position to be cut, of feeding mechanism for automatically feeding the pelts to said cutting mechanism and means for receiving and guiding the cut pelts for discharge from the machine.

2. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing` the hair to assume a position to be cnt ,of means for feeding pelts to said cutting mechanism and means for guiding the discharge of the pelts from the machine.

In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor for feeding pelts to said cutting mechanism, a retainer member, and means for moving said member to' and from said conveyor for holding the skins thereon.

4. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur downwhile allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor to and from said cutting mechanism and means for locking said4 conveyor when disposed adjacent said' cutting mecha'- msm.

5. In an unhairing machine, the combina'- tion with cutting mechanism and mechanims for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, a. hand lever for bodily moving said conveyor to and from said cutting mechanism, and means secured to said lever for automatically locking said conveyor in position adjacent said cutting mechanism.

6. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting'mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, a hand lever for moving said conveyor to and from said cutting mechanism and means attached to said lever for automatically locking the conveyor inV position adjacent said cutting mechanism and for permitting automatic disengagement when said lever is actuated to withdraw the conveyor from said cutting mechanism- 7. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor away from said cutting mechanism to permit an operator to place a skin on the upper surface thereof with one end projecting beyond the forward edge of said conveyor, and means for turning the projecting end of the skin to a position beneath the conveyor as the latter is bodily moved towardy the cutting mechanism.

8. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor toward and from said cutting mechanism, and means for wiping the projecting edge of a skin about the forward edge of the conveyor as the latter is moved toward the cutting mechanism.

9. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, means for wiping an end of a skin about the forward edge of the conveyor and means for retaining the turned end of the skin beneath said conveyor.

10. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and mechanism for brushing and holding the fur down while allowing the hair to assume a position to be cut, of a conveyor, comprising a belt disposed around a feeding drum and a stretcher bar, means for moving said conveyor totward and from said cutting mechanism to permit a skin to be placed on said conveyor with an end of the skin projecting beyond said stretcher bar, a sweep for moving the projecting end of the skin to a position beneath the conveyor and against the underside thereof and means for holding the skin in such position while the conveyor is actuated.

11. In an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and means for causing the hairs to be positioned for cutting and the fur to be held away while the hairs are being cut, of a conveyor for feeding the skins past said cutting mechanism, a stretcher bar about which said conveyor is actuated, arrd means normally disposed above said conveyor and adapted when the conveyor is bodily moved toward said cutting mechanism to engage the Aforward end of a skin on said conveyor and wrap the same over the edge of said stretcher bar, said means being actuated bv said stretcher bar.

12. n an unhairing machine, the combination with cutting mechanism and means for causing the hairs to be positioned for cutting and the fur to be held away while the hairs are being cut, of a conveyor, means for intermittently rotating said conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor toward and from said cutting mechanism, means for drawing a projecting end of a skin beneath the conveyor, and means for holding the edge of the skin beneath the conveyor and permitting the skin to be automatically discharged.

13. In a machine for cutting furs, the combination with cutting mechanism. of a conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor toward and from said cutting mechanism, means for rotating said conveyor, and means for turning a projecting end of a skin to a position beneath said conveyor when the latter is moved toward said cutting mechanism.

11i. In a machine for cutting fur, the combination with cutting mechanism, of a conveyor, means for bodily moving the conveyor toward and from said cutting mechanism, means for intermittently rotating said conveyor, means actuated upon movementl of said conveyor toward said cutting mechanism to cause the forward end of a skin to travel around with the conveyor when the latter is rotated in a position adjacent the cuttin mechanism,

15. In a machine for cutting` fur, the combination with cutting mechanism, of a conveyor for feeding skins past said cutting mechanism, and means for smoothing a skin toward its longitudinal edges when disposed on said conveyor.

16. In a machine for cutting fur, the combination with cutting mechanism, of a conveyor for feeding skins past said cutting mechanism and means disposed above said conveyor and adjacent the upper surface thereof for engaging the skins to flatten the same against the conveyor and smooth the same toward its longitudinal edges.

17. In a machine for cutting furs, the combination with cutting mechanism of a conveyor, a plate disposed above said conveyor and inclined at an angle with respect thereto, said plate having a plurality of diagonally extending vanes extending toward said conveyor, said vanes being in such position with respect to the conveyor as to engage the skins as they are fed past the same and flatten them in a smooth manner against the conveyor.

18. In an unhairing machine, the combination with unhairing mechanism, including cutting means, of a conveyor, means for bodily moving said conveyor toward said cutting means, and means disposed adjacent said cutting means for engaging the edge of a skin draped over the end of the conveyor and turning the same to a position beneath said conveyor.

19. In an unhairing machine, the combination with unhairing mechanism including cutting means, of a conveyor, a stretcher bar about which said conveyor is threaded, a spring plate disposed in a plane beneath that in which said stretcher bar lies, and adjacent said cutting means. the upper surface of said plate being smooth and unobstructed and slanting downwardly away from said cutting means, whereby a skin placed upon said conveyor may have its forward edge extending beyond said stretcher bar turned under as the conveyor is bodily moved toward said cutting means.

20. i In a machine for cutting fur, the combination with cutting mechanism, of means for automatically feeding pelts to said cutting mechanism comprising means for causing successive unpinned pelts to move over and extend from the forward edge of said conveyor and means for turning said eX- tended end about the forward edge of the conveyor.

In a machine for cutting fur, the combination with cutting mechanism, of means for conveying pelts to said cutting mecha ting meehanism,a conveyor upon which pelts nism and a plate disposed beneath and at an may be disposed in overlapping relation and angle to the forward edge of said conveyor a eross-bar for retaining the pelts against 10 to receive pelts placed on said conveyor in the conveyor4 as they move around the for- 5 overlapping relation as they move about the ward edge of said conveyor.

forward edge of the conveyor. In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

22. A fur cutting machine comprising cut- FREDERICK W. HORSTMANN. 

